Late Thursday EWG found out the Food and Drug Administration was going to delay their sunscreen regulations by six months, at the request of the cosmetics industry. EWG replied with a statement that called out the agency's foot-dragging and highlighted the disservice to consumers. USA Today, Forbes, Mother Jones, Los Angles Times and E&E News all ran stories.
From the natural resources department, Dusty spoke with a Reuters reporter about Vermont's prospects of being the first state to ban fracking. Read on for more tidbits of EWG's news coverage from this week:
Sunscreens
USA Today: Sunscreen manufacturers get more time to update labels
The delay is "incredibly frustrating," says Sonya Lunder, a senior analyst with the Environmental Working Group, a Washington, D.C., advocacy group which has pushed the FDA to pass even stricter sunscreen regulations.
Forbes: FDA Delays Implementation Of New Sunscreen Regulations Until After Summer
Concerned consumers can find plenty of recommendations in the annual EWG sunscreen report as of May 16th, including the addition of many more child- and baby-safe sunscreens to the Skin Deep database, which includes information on some 1800 sunscreen products.
Los Angeles Times: FDA delays implementing sunscreen rules
"FDA just gave consumers 1,800 more reasons to turn to our sunscreen database," said Sonya Lunder, senior analyst with the Environmental Working Group...
Mother Jones: FDA Delays Sunscreen Rules. Again.
But as Environmental Working Group pointed out, the new rules continue "to allow oxybenzone, retinyl palmitate and several other ingredients in sunscreens despite scientists' concerns about their toxicity."
E&E News: FDA delays enforcement of new sunscreen-labeling rule
"We are baffled that FDA deems it necessary to delay such weak regulations," analyst Sonya Lunder said. "The agency has caved to industry pressure every step of the way."
Dallas Morning News: Fun in the sun? Better read this first....
The problem with vitamin A is that according to researchers at the Environmental Working Group, it may actually speed the growth of skin cancer that it is intended to prevent!
Natural Resources
Reuters: Vermont poised to be first state to outlaw fracking
"The drilling industry has shrunk EPA's enforcement power down to the size of a matchbox," Horwitt said. "There's not a lot the EPA can do."
Chemicals
Palm Beach Post: With Toxic Cleaners, Make a Clean Break
"The rest of the product can be a complete mystery to the consumer, Brown said.
Fox News: How to Breathe Easier at Home
At least 74 million Americans in 42 states drink tap water containing chromium (a metal that in some forms can cause cancer), a study from the Environmental Working Group reveals.
Huffington Post: Household Cleaners Hall of Shame List Highlights Hazardous Products
...consumer watchdog organization Environmental Working Group (EWG) has just released a veritable rogues' gallery of the most noxious, nasty household cleaners on the market, and it's certainly worth a look.
Huffington Post: Give the Best Mother's Day Gift Ever: A Real Spring Cleaning
Get rid of the most toxic cleaners from the Environmental Working Group's hall of shame.
Refinery 29: Juice Cleanses: Fad Or For Real?
In 2003,The Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York conducted a study with the Environmental Working Group on the toxins found within the fetal umbilical blood.
Cosmetics
Mother Jones: Is "Meat Glue" As Gross As It Sounds?
Environmental Working Group's "Skin Deep" cosmetics database lists it as an ingredient in six hair-care products and categorizes it as a "low hazard" substance.
Triple Pundit: It's biodegradable! Or is it?
So, if you are looking for safe cosmetics, then the EWG's Skin Deep database is the place to go
Examiner: How to choose a moisturizer
EWG, the Environmental Working Group, has created Skin Deep ®, a cosmetic database including product and ingredient safety ratings designed to educate consumers about products in the marketplace.
